The theme of piracy has never done much for me in books or movies, so I really had very little interest in any games that feature the theme. So I really wasn’t expecting much when I was roped into playing ‘Winds of Plunder’ at a game store recently. I was pleasantly surprised, I must admit.

Who will like this game? This game will plunder the hearts of those who love themed strategy games of medium complexity, especially those who ‘treasure’ player interaction and aggressive play.

Theme: Sail around the islands of the Carribean plundering crew, provisions, and weaponry while hunting for treasure and amassing victory points at each port. If you have more weapons than another pirate already in port, then board their ship and plunder them, too! The player with the most victory points at the end of nine rounds wins.

Components: As a whole, really nice. The game board is moderately attractive, separating the 12 islands into four areas from east to west, each containing three islands. There are spaces to place tiles next to each island, and a separate area for the tile bank. There are also scoring ladders for keeping track of crew, weapons, provisions, and treasure. A Victory Point track surrounds the board (think Ticket to Ride).

The cards are of an exceptional quality, a bit thicker than most standard cards, nicely coated, and easy to read. A carved wooden silhouette of a pirate ship makes for a very nice playing piece, plus you have standard matching wooden cubes (called wind cubes in this game) and disks. Each player also has a small cardboard compass for determining wind direction, and there are a few other miscellaneous components (Blackbeard’s tile, round marker). Those are OK, not exceptional.

Gameplay: It took just a little while to set this game up, but it seemed a bit long because none of us were familiar with the game. Also, the first couple of turns really crept by because we had to keep referencing the rule book and/or quick start instructions. But by round three, the game sped up noticeably as we became used to the order of play. Some of the more notable mechanics and rules are:

- I’ve never liked the way most board games handle travel at sea, but this game does a good job of combining the elements of movement allowances, action points, and wind direction to take a lot of the ambiguity away from water travel. Plus, you always have a destination, there’s no meandering in the middle of the ocean at the end of your turn.

- Each round starts with an auction to determine which way the wind blows. Bidding is done with your supply of wind cubes. The high bidder receives “Blackbeard’s tile” and determines who will be the first player for that round.

- You can choose to sail with the wind for free, or use 3 action points to sail against the wind to a destination of your choosing.

- Victory points are awarded for developing a reputation at all three ports in a quadrant. (This simply means that you visit the island and have at least as many weapons as any other boats there). The first player to do so gets the most points, and the others get points on a declining scale (7 for first, then 5, 3, 2, and 1).

- Once a player sails into the port of an island, he obtains the item(s) pictured on the tile next to the island along with the specified number of victory points, and the tile is replaced with a new one for the next player who lands there. This really helps to keep the game fresh.

- Certain benefits are given to the person who is the leader in number of crew members, weapons, and provisions. Each of these benefits can assist you in building your strategy.

- Action points can be used to drawck (or use) an action card, restock your wind cube supply, or sail against the wind. You start with three action points per turn, but that number becomes variable during the game.

- There are multiple strategies to getting victory points, and they seem to be pretty well-balanced. This should lead to a lot of close games.


Best points: The game rewards aggressive play, which is fitting for the theme. Rounds go by pretty quickly (once you’re familiar with the game turn). The action cards add a nice element of surprise (which can be described more as ‘unpredictability’ rather than blind luck) to the game. Between the auction, action cards, and ‘boarding’ other boats, there is a good deal of direct and indirect player interaction, which keeps the game lively. Strategically, a cornucopia of possibilities exists – the game never seems ‘scripted’.

Shortcomings: The ‘ladder’ scoring tracks on the sides of the board is easily messed up by shirtsleeves or bumping the table, as is the victory point track. (Unlike Ticket to ride, it’s not always possible to verify your scores). Leadership in the categories of provisions, weapons, and crew can change very quickly and very often, so it’s sometimes gets confusing as to who leads which category. And because treasure is marked on one of the ladder charts instead of collecting doubloons, the piracy theme is not as prominent as it could have been (perhaps this is a good thing?). These are very minor annoyances. One complaint that is a bit more legitimate is that the person with the most weapons can rule the board as he wishes with little opposition. That, however, does not necessarily mean he/she will win.

Final Thoughts: Ahoy, mates! This scurvy dog landlubber has turned in me loafers to sail the seas in quest of treasure. With five of us playing for the first time, we had a bit of confusion here and there, but we all ended up liking the game a lot. The game really pushes all of the right buttons for me – strategically balanced, moderately aggressive and interactive, and nice components, too! It really overcame the prejudice I had against aquatic movement and pirate-themed entertainment and has proved itself to be a wonderful and innovative game. I give it a VERY solid 8 out of 10.